The Great Gaming Spree
by Psybil
Summary: Lestrade introduces Sherlock to video games so he has something "normal" to do when there aren't any new cases for a while. He gets a little too engrossed.


**A/N:** Hey, guys. This is my first fanfic in a year or so, my first published story on the site and the first Sherlock fic I've ever written, so I'm sorry if anyone is a bit out of character, especially Sherlock! His personality is a little hard for me to get down perfectly, but I hope I didn't do a terrible job with him. This is supposed to be humorous, anyway! (also, reviews are loved and appreciated!)

* * *

When Lestrade showed up with a box containing a game system and multiple video games to go along with it, John knew something strange would happen.

Sherlock sat in his usual chair, distractedly tugging at random strings on his violin while Lestrade explained that Sherlock needed a type of diversion from the boredom of being "caseless" so he wouldn't do something dangerous or stupid in the future, such as accidentally blowing up the flat or collecting random body parts and hoarding them in the refrigerator for experiments. He needed a normal thing to do to keep himself occupied.

Sherlock had tried to convince Lestrade that it was a stupid idea and that it wouldn't change his habits at all, but as it turned out, Sherlock booted up the system shortly after Lestrade had left the building. Even though he claimed that such games were childish and a waste of time, he hadn't been able to fight back the prickling curiosity the "dumb white box" had given him.

* * *

Later that day, John received a text.

_How's he coming along with that new Wii of his? –GL_

_I think he's playing… what was it called, Wii Sports? He's prancing around the room like a ninny. –JW_

_Has he complained about having no cases at all since I left? –GL_

_Not once. –JW_

_Good. Why don't you join him? Some of those games are multiplayer. –GL_

_Such as? –JW_

_Mario Kart. –GL_

* * *

Apparently, there were odd, wheel shaped cases that the Wii remotes could fit into while Sherlock and John played Mario Kart. It had been taken a few moments for them to get used to the odd feeling of the motion sensors built into the remotes, which had to be held sideways, but they caught on rather quickly. Sherlock, as John noticed, would always insist on playing as Yoshi, for reasons he could not figure out. Their first race mostly consisted of the two of them trying to figure out the controls, and as a result, they both struggled to get past fifth place. Eventually, John and Sherlock became skilled enough to stay far ahead of the rest of the group, and they nearly crossed the finish line at the same time.

* * *

_I beat him. He's angry with me. –JW_

_Wait until you play Mario Party. –GL_

_Oh, no. No more Mario for today. What other games did you give him? –JW_

_I'll leave that as a surprise. –GL_

* * *

In the box, besides Mario Party, John found Super Smash Bros. Brawl (which included Mario – John was getting the idea that he was a popular video game character), Wii Play, and something called Just Dance 4. John wondered if Mycroft was somehow involved in this and if he told Lestrade to buy that game so he can blackmail his brother. But Sherlock took one look at the game and said that there was nothing anyone could say or do that would get him to dance.

John wanted to say that he practically was dancing by the way he was waving around the remote and needlessly moving his entire body along with it, but he kept quiet.

* * *

Two more days lacking new cases passed, and Sherlock showed signs of obsessiveness over the games. John awoke at five in the morning to the sound of Sherlock yelling something along the lines of "_BLOODY HELL, PEACH! I WAS JUST ABOUT TO GET THAT STAR! NOW IT'S ON THE OTHER SIDE OF THE MAP!"_

It turns out he hadn't gone to sleep the previous night. He was even still wearing the same bathrobe he'd been in the morning Lestrade had dropped off the Wii.

John had played a couple of the games with him for a short amount of time and personally preferred Wii Play over the others, but after finding out how viciously competitive Sherlock was when it came to Mario Party, John vowed to stay away from it no matter how often he asked him to "just play a quick round."

And he still hadn't touched Just Dance 4. It was beginning to gather dust.

* * *

"Oh, my God. Mrs. Hudson, are you really playing that?"

"Yes, John! It's quite fun, actually. You should join us."

"No, no, NO! I touched the Smash Ball first!"

* * *

_I think we have a problem. –JW_

_What? –GL_

_He's playing with Mrs. Hudson. I think he's converting her. –JW_

_I am literally grinning in the middle of a conference. People are giving me strange looks. –GL_

_What am I supposed to do about this? When a case comes up he might not even want to take it. –JW_

_Don't be ridiculous. Sherlock loves solving crime more than anything. –GL_

_I hope you're right. –JW_

_But is there anything I can do to get him off that system for a while? I don't even think he's changed his clothes once since you left it at our flat, and he hasn't gone outside at all. –JW_

_I don't know. Try a computer game. –GL_

It didn't sound like much of a solution, but John decided to give it a try.

* * *

"Hey, Sherlock. Would you come here?"

"What for? I'm busy."

"You aren't busy, you're playing Mario Kart."

"I'm busy playing Mario Kart. Do you mind?"

"I have a new game for you to try…"

"Do you? What is it?"

"Slender."

* * *

John thought he could try to scare Sherlock out of his newfound gaming craze, but Slender didn't get much of a reaction from him. He'd jerked backwards in his chair due to surprise three or four times (which was incredibly amusing), but he was able to complete the game surprisingly quickly, and he went straight back to the Wii.

John, determined to solve Sherlock's addiction, decided to spend some time researching a few of the scariest games out there that were available for PC.

_Dead Space, Silent Hill, The Grudge… Oh, my, what's this?_

He came across a rather morbid picture of a humanlike monster with large claws and a terribly disfigured, very stretched out face.

_Amnesia: The Dark Descent, eh? Maybe this'll do._

Sherlock wasn't scared nearly as easily as John or other people were, but after reading a few reviews for the game that claimed Amnesia was the most daunting game out there, John was confident that this would scare some sense into him.

* * *

John glanced at the clock. It was a quarter past midnight. He and Sherlock had been sitting next to each other on the sofa for quite a while.

Sherlock was using John's laptop to play Amnesia. He had denied being nervous once the suspense built up in the game, but John knew that the dark, grotesque themes of the game were starting to get to him, judging from how tense his shoulders were. Sherlock had seen bloody murder scenes and gore and they didn't normally bother him, but something about Amnesia made him anxious. John felt the same way, and he wasn't even playing, only watching. Whenever he heard the distant growl of a monster he would feel goosebumps rise on his arms.

Sherlock tried to be as calm and collected as he could, but when a monster came out from nowhere and killed his character in an instant, the laptop nearly went flying off of his lap because of how high he jumped in his seat. He exclaimed, "Jesus Christ, what _was _that?"

John's heart was pounding and adrenaline was coursing through his veins, but he chuckled.

"Don't- don't laugh at me, John!"

* * *

1:26 AM. The game rolled on. Both detectives were now completely terrified, and they had gradually ended up sitting bunched together in the center of the couch. Neither of them seemed to notice.

"Good God, John, why on earth did you think buying this game would be a good idea?"

"I… don't know... Wait, what is that? Are those dead pigs hanging from the ceiling?"

"Obviously! What else could they be?"

"I don't like it. I think you should get out of there."

He did, but not before carefully making sure there were no monsters about. It was deadly silent. He snuck out of the room and went to the right, thus finding another door. But a second before he opened it, a monster that had somehow evaded his detection appeared right in his face.

Sherlock and John were both unable to resist screaming. Sherlock hastily shut the lid of the laptop, casting the room in darkness, while both men kept sputtering out exclamations of shock.

There was a pause, and then they started laughing nervously.

"Well, that was…" Sherlock began.

"Horrifying?" John offered, taking a deep breath.

In the dim light, Sherlock gave him a look. "You thought I was scared?"

"You just screamed."

"It was a reflex."

"Oh, please."

Sherlock placed John's laptop on the coffee table in front of them and stood up. For a moment, John feared that he was going to head for that godforsaken Wii again, but instead, he merely turned towards him and said the words he was hoping to hear, and a few more.

"I think I'm finished with these games for a while. Very clever, that trick of yours. I didn't expect it to work."

"Trick? What trick?"

"Something about that blasted game made me never want to touch any of the others again. In fact, I have an urge to disassemble them, along with the system, and throw them out a window."

John smirked; he'd done it. Sherlock's odd gaming streak was over, and things would go back to normal soon. Now he just had to tell Lestrade to never give Sherlock anything of that sort ever again.

"Wonderful. Let's get to bed now, shall we?"

* * *

John was just dozing off when he heard his name being whispered. He grunted and opened his eyes.

Sherlock was standing in the doorway, staring at him.

"Sherlock? What is it?"

Sherlock hesitated. John looked at him drowsily, dumbfounded. "You're _still _scared?"

"If I admit it, will you not josh me about it?"

John yawned. "I won't. Now why are you in here?"

Sherlock continued gazing at him quietly, and he understood.

"Oh, God, Sherlock. Is this really necessary? It was just a video game."

"Anything is possible until proven otherwise."

"Sherlock…"

He didn't budge.

_He really is horrified, _John realized. Now that the images of the game were back in his mind, he noticed that he was starting to feel a bit jumpy all over again. He sighed. "Fine, but only this once, and don't tell _anybody_ about it."

"I wasn't planning to," Sherlock told him. He slipped under the covers, keeping a considerable distance from himself and John. After a few seconds, he murmured, "Thank you."

John almost replied by saying "anytime," but he caught himself, and he instead said, "Good night, Sherlock."

As awkward as the situation might have been, it was also comical, and John fell asleep with a faint yet amused smile on his face.

Sherlock Holmes, the great consulting detective, was afraid of Amnesia: The Dark Descent.

* * *

"John, get up."

John moaned in protest and rolled over.

"_John_."

"Sherlock, what could you possibly want now?" He mumbled.

For a moment, he received no answer. He opened his eyes, turned towards the voice and saw Sherlock standing nearby, and was relieved to see that he was finally in something other than a bathrobe. He looked relatively sleep deprived, but that would gradually be fixed now that he wouldn't be spending so many hours burning out his retinas in front of a TV screen.

John pushed himself up to a sitting position and looked at him questioningly.

"Do you know how to dance?" Sherlock asked.


End file.
